After finishing up his economic bus tour, President Obama is leaving today on his 10 day vacation to Martha's Vineyard. His trip comes as the White House gives new details on the President's upcoming September jobs speech. The Washington Post reports that the President's plan will include a new round of stimulus spending to spur job growth. The proposal is also expected to include tax cuts for companies that hire new workers and new spending for roads and construction. The Post says the President also plans to announce a major push for deficit reduction, urging the newly- formed congressional super-committee to identify more than the $1.5 trillion in cuts its been assigned.
Speaking with CBS news yesterday, President Obama discussed the state of the economy after last week's market turmoil. He said "I don't think we're in danger of another recession, but we are in danger of not having a recovery that is fast enough to deal with a genuine unemployment crisis for a whole lot of folks out there. And that's why we need to be doing more." The President's jobs push comes as a new Gallup poll shows only 26% of Americans approve of his handling of the economy. That's down 11% since the last poll in May.
While campaigning in New Hampshire yesterday, Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney was critical of President Obama's upcoming jobs pitch. He said, "Hopefully he'll listen to people who've actually worked in the private sector and who understand how the economy works because he and his academic and political friends don't understand what it takes to get this economy going again. And it's too little too late, but we appreciate the fact that he's trying to devote some time to it."